The present invention relates to an arrangement for clamping a saw blade and to a saw blade for use with the clamping arrangement and has particular, although not exclusive, relevance to such a clamping arrangement as used on a power jigsaw, or the like.
The ability to clamp the blade of a power saw has long been known to be a desirable feature. Power saws which cut using a linear reciprocal action usually operate at high stroke speeds, such as 3,000 strokes per minute.
Because of the large forces generated by the cutting action at these reciprocal frequencies, there is a need to rigidly clamp the blade to the shaft on which it is mounted and which is being driven by the motor of the power saw. Failure to clamp the blade could result in the blade working loose from its mounting and warping or snapping during use.
However, the desire to rigidly clamp the saw blade to its driving shaft tends to create problems with the need to change saw blades depending upon the nature of the workpiece being sawed. For example, a different type of saw blade is used to saw wood as opposed to metal. Thus the need to constantly change the saw blade is not helped by the need to rigidly mount the blade on its driving shaft.
It would therefore be desirable to utilise a mechanism which on the one hand allows rigid clamping of the saw blade to its driving shaft, and on the other hand allows rapid interchanging of different types of saw blade.